Rogue elephant kills 2 brothers
2013-03-07 09:03
Johannesburg - An elephant at the Balule Nature Reserve in
Hoedspruit, Limpopo, has killed a reserve worker after killing his brother the
week before, it was reported on Monday.
Nelson Bango was searching for the elephant which killed his
brother William, when it attacked him on his motorbike at around 17:00 on
Monday, The Star newspaper reported.
"Nelson stalled the bike and then tried to run from the
elephant, but after 100 metres the elephant caught him, and to our immense
horror killed him," Balule chairperson Anthony Dott told the newspaper.
William was trampled and gored to death while laying a water
pipe close to owner Steven Hearne's camp.
"We are shocked that this bull has killed another of
our workers, and we find it unbelievable that William's brother was the
victim," said Hearne.
"Nelson had barely returned from his brother's
funeral."
After William was killed, the reserve reportedly used a
helicopter and trackers to find the bull and kill it. They searched for a week
without any luck.
According to the newspaper, following Nelson's death, the
reserve redoubled its efforts to kill the bull. They eventually found it around
11:00 on Tuesday and the elephant was killed from the helicopter.
The game reserve believes that growths on the elephant's
trunk may have caused it discomfort, and that it could have been treated
aggressively by humans in the past. It was also in musth, a period of
hypersexuality and aggression caused by hormones.
- SAPA
